Gov. Kim Reynolds announced late Friday afternoon that she has ordered an independent review of the Iowa Finance Authority after new details became public about the allegations that led to her firing of former agency director David Jamison.

"Since the victims reported these horrible allegations, their safety and privacy have been my top priority,” Reynolds, a Republican, said in a statement. “Now that one of the victims has made the decision to release the specific details of the harassment, I am ordering an independent review of David Jamison’s conduct and what was known about it."

When asked by reporters Friday morning whether she felt an obligation to investigate claims that the harassment persisted for years, affected several people and that other senior administrators were aware of the problem, she dismissed the question.

"It was reported that the culture (of harassment) with that was for one individual. And I fired him," she said.

Des Moines attorney Mark Weinhardt will lead the investigation into Jamison's conduct, including the actions that led to his termination, as well as any other issues that occurred during his tenure.

Weinhardt also will investigate what other agency officials knew about the allegations and whether they responded to them appropriately.

"I would expect to commence the investigation very promptly," Weinhardt said in an interview. "But it would be premature for me to say how long it will take because I don’t know what I’m going to find."

Reynolds' spokeswoman Brenna Smith said the attorney general's office is still drafting an engagement letter for Weinhardt's services, and she did not disclose what he would be paid for the work.

Weinhardt previously was tasked by the Iowa Supreme Court with investigating an ethics complaint against former Republican Sen. Kent Sorenson in 2013.

"We have a pretty deep background in these kinds of investigations — a few of them very public, many of them private business matters," he said. "But you have to adapt to the facts of each case.”

Weinhardt said he does not plan to discuss the investigation publicly until a final report is submitted to the governor and the attorney general. He said it is his expectation that the final report will be made public.

"I want to make you and others aware that Dave Jamison has been sexually harassing me and others in the office for years," she wrote. "I am terrified about coming forward, but his behavior is escalating and has to stop. It is not safe for women to be around him."

The woman wrote that others in the office, including the agency's chief administrative officer and legal counsel, witnessed or spoke to Jamison about the behavior.

According to the woman's letter, one of the officials reprimanded Jamison for his remarks but was told, "You must be allergic to a paycheck." The woman wrote that she understood that to be a threat of retaliation.

Reynolds stresses the importance of reporting free of retaliation

Reynolds told reporters Friday morning that all state employees should know there is a procedure in place that allows them to report harassment claims.

“My message to anyone that works in state government — and it has been since I took office — is that I have a zero-tolerance policy,” Reynolds said. “I want them to know if they see or experience any type of sexual harassment or if they’re a victim, there’s a process in place.

"They have somebody to go to to report it. They will be heard and, if necessary, action will be taken.”

The woman who wrote the letter to Reynolds said the agency’s staff had undergone sexual harassment training, but that it was laughed off by Jamison. She wrote that she was not confident in her ability to make reports to the Department of Administrative Services, the state agency tasked with handling those complaints.

“I think DAS will just cover for him, and I’ll end up without a job,” she wrote. “Please help me or tell me who to go to.”

The woman's attorney, Paige Fiedler, told the Associated Press that her client took a "huge risk" in coming forward and was grateful that Reynolds fired Jamison, but she questioned why Reynolds didn't order the state to investigate who else may have been aware of his behavior and why it wasn't reported sooner.

“None of that happened, which is unusual,” Fiedler told the AP. “There are lessons to be learned regardless of getting rid of the perpetrator.”

Reynolds has worked with and been friendly with Jamison for decades — a friendship noted by the woman who wrote the letter.

"I know you’re friends with Dave and I hate to put this on your shoulders, but I just can’t take it anymore," the woman wrote.

The governor's office, in responding to an open records request from the Associated Press, initially said it had no records showing why the allegations against Jamison were considered credible and that it had created no records detailing why he was terminated.

“I’ve made it pretty clear that I can’t legislate or dictate proper behavior," she said at the time. "You make sure people understand what that constitutes, sexual harassment. And you make sure that they understand what the process is."

Late Friday afternoon her office issued a press release stating that she had ordered an investigation.